Page 13 of It's a Wonderful Knife

“Couldn’t agree more.” Jax grinned. “I like when things are easy.”

“I thought Dad was helping you guys. Where is he?” Dakota asked.

Jax said, “Oh, uh… he had something he needed to do.”

“Really? After he made a big stink about me helping with the luggage?” Dakota looked annoyed.

Shrugging, Jax said, “It’s not my place to question him, kid.”

“No, I guess not.” Dakota sighed and held out a key to me. “This is for you, Mr. Callum.”

I took the key from Dakota, wiggling the little elf on the end. “These are a cute touch.”

Dakota laughed. “Chloe thought of that. The guests kept losing their keys, so she made those by hand. The guests are way more careful now with the keys. Probably because the little elves are so cute.”

“I’ll bet you’re right.”

“Well,” Dakota said. “Let us know if you need anything. There’s an intercom system in all the cabins.”

Jax started to leave but then stopped. “Did you tell them dinner is at six, Dakota?”

Dakota grimaced. “Not yet. Uh… dinner is at six.”

Jameson laughed, his dark eyes amused. “Better late than never.”

“I’ll remember next time,” Dakota mumbled.

Jax slapped Dakota on the back. “Can’t remember everything, right?”

“I guess not.” Dakota sighed. “I forgot to look at the checklist.”

Jameson snorted a laugh. “Ezra thinks this part is easy. He has no idea how much there is to remember. He hates Dakota doing this side of things because he thinks it’s women’s work.”

Dakota winced. “Whatever that means. Mom works as hard as any man.”

“Sure, but your dad isn’t happy about you learning the administrative stuff.” Jameson shrugged. “He doesn’t even bother hiding it anymore.”

Giving Jameson a warning glance, Jax said, “Don’t go gossiping in front of the guests, Jameson. You know better.”

“Uh, right. Sorry.” Jameson shoved his hands in his pockets.

Jax’s smile seemed forced as he turned to me. “I apologize for that. Jameson has loose lips.”

“No problem,” I said.

There was obviously some sort of tug-of-war going on between Ezra and Mona where Dakota was concerned. I’d never noticed that in the past, so maybe it was just because Dakota was older now. Maybe Ezra wanted more of a hands-on role training the boy. Dakota was a very quiet, sensitive kid. Ezra was the opposite of that. He might have had an old-fashioned view about toughening up a kid like Dakota.

Dakota cleared his throat. “So, anyway, if you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to tell us.”

Max was on the porch waiting for me, so I moved to join him. “You bet. We’ll see you folks at dinner tonight.”

As the three of them left us to head back down the road, Jax leaned over and said something to Jameson, and the other man seemed to wilt. Dakota walked with his head down, not saying a word.

In the past, the vibe at the farm had seemed light-hearted. This year, the harmony of the place felt a bit fractured. If they didn’t get their happy mojo back, maybe they’d need to change the name of the place to Grouchy Elves Farm.

Chapter Three

Maxwell